Improvement in machines for polishing the eyes of needles



- P; u. BEEBS. I Machine for Polishing the Eyes of Needles,

.NO. 166,246. Patented Aug.3';1 8 75.

WITNESSES. j w /z f I INVENTOFQ.

NVPETERS. FHOTQ-LJTHQGRAPMER. WASHINGTON. (M:v

NITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

PHILO M.BEERS,OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR POLISHING THE EYES OF NEEDLES..-

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 166,246, dated August3, 1875; application filed July 9, 1875.

of which the following is a specification:

This invention has for its object the polishing or finishing the eyes ofneedles, 860., after they have been drilled or punched, as the case maybe; and the invention consists chiefly in the use of a reciprocating.carriage for supporting the needle-clamp, combined with a crank or itsequivalent, whereby the needles are raised and depressed on theirpolishingthreads while being moved to and fro along said thread and,second, the invention also consists in combining, with a needle-clamp ona reciprocating carriage, a cam or other suitable guiding and holdingmechanism, whereby the needles are held during a portion of the movementin a fixed position, and then automatically reversed and held duringanother portion of their movement along their polishingthreads, as willhereinafter appear.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine. Fig. 2 is a plan or topview of the same. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through the center.Figs. 4 are enlarged views of the end of the clamping device that holdsthe needles on the carriage.

At A is represented the frame of the machine, and at B is the mainshaft, upon which is the crank G to give motion to the carriage D, whichis connected with the crank O by a rigid connecting arm or rod, as at E,one end of which is connected to the crank, and the other is rigidlyattached to the edge of the carriage, as shown at E in Fig. 3. The rearedge of the carriage D is mounted upon roller-bearings that travel uponor within guides, as at F, Figs. 1 and 3, and which are placed in theframe A. Upon the upper surface of the said carriage are placed the supports for the needle-clamp, as shown at G, and they are attached uponthe carriage by set-screws, so that they may be moved on the carriagenearer to the bearings or the crank, as may be desired.

Now, it is evident that as the crank revolves the front edge of thecarriage will rise and fall at each revolution of the crank or,rcciprocation of the carriage, and will thereby lift and depress theneedles at the same time that they are moved to and fro on thepolishing-threads, and therefore both ends of the eyes will thereby bepolished at each reciprocation. The spools for holding the threads'are'mounted at one end of the frame, as shown at'H H, and the threadsare wound upon a shaft, as at K, which is operated by aratchet and pawl,as shown at L, one end of the lever coming in contact with the carriageas it rises, as shown at Fig. 1. By such an, arrangement the threads areconstantly shifted to bring new or unworn portions into action on theneedles. automatically and regularly with each reciprocation of theneedle-carriage.

The clamp for holding the needles is shown at M, and consists of twobars that extend across the carriage, one of which is mounted inbearings upon the standards at G, and in such manner as to be partiallyrotated, so that the needles may be reciprocating during the movementsof the carriage. The other bar of the clamp is supported in properposition to the first by a pivotal connection through pendent arms, asshown at Nin Fig. 4 in an enlarged form, and which will allow the twobars of the clamp to fall apart a considerable distance, so that theneedles may be easily caught when swinging on their polishingthreads. Alink with a set-screw at one end, as shown at O in Fig. 4, serves tobind the two bars together to form a clamp similar to a vise, one Viewat Fig. 4 showing the clamp open and the other closed. Upon one end ofthe clamp-bar that is mounted on the standards G, or extending outtherefrom, is a craiikarm, as at P, to which is attached aconnecting-rod, R, the other end of which rod leads to a crank-pin, S,on a crank-arm, T, mounted on the main shaft B. Said crankarm T is thesame length as the crank at O, and placed so that the connecting-rod Bmay not interfere with the movement of the carriage D. But the end ofthe said rod R is slotted where it works on the crank-pin S, to permitit to play to and fro a considerable distance to reciprocate theneedle-clamp when. desired, and this is caused by means of a cam at U,which is mounted upon the crank-pin S, and which is provided with agroove on its side, into which a pin in the connecting-rod R works, andwhich gives the proper motion to the connecting-rod to vibrate theneedle-clamp to scour the corners of the eyes during the movement of thecarriage.

It will be seen that said cam at U is arranged to turn on thecrank-pin,and is held tric arc of the cam, then the needle-clamp will. be changedat the center of its reciprocation;

but if the said pin be locked in the hole or notch at W on the cam, thenthe vibration of the needle-clamp will occur at one end of its stroke.At Y is shown a clamp, which is placed over the needles that areswinging upon the threads, but not undergoing the operation of beingpolished, and which are kept out of the way of the needle-clamp by saidclamp Y reaching over their points, and holding them at each end of theguides that support the polishing-threads. Only one of said clamps isshown, but another may be used at the other end for the needles notfinished.v

I am aware that such machines have had needle-clamps for changing theposition of the needles upon their scouring-threads, and that thethreads reciprocated through the eyes of the needles; but I am not awarethat the needle clamp had a reciprocating as well as a vibratingmovement, by which the needles could be drawn to and fro any desireddistance on the threads, while the threads remain at rest; and

I therefore claim- 1. The combination, with the carriage'D and clamp M,of mechanism, substantially as shown and described, for reciprocatingthe carriage, and causing it to rise and fall at each reciprocation, asand for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, with the reciprocating carriage and needle-clamp, ofthe slotted connecting-rod R, cam U, and crank-pin S, as and for thepurpose set forth.

3. In combination with the reciprocating carriage and needle-clamp, thewinding mechanism for moving and polishing threads at eachreciprocation, substantially as described.

4. The needle-clamp -M, constructed of two bars, one of which is mountedin bearings, so as to partially rotate, in combination with the link 0and its set-screw, for binding the bars together, substantially asdescribed.

PHILO M. BEERS. Witnesses:

F. W. HURD, A. W. HURD.

